3 Things To Know About Properly Evicting A Tenant
Oh, evictions, how you’re hated by all.
Whether you’re the family being evicted or the property manager doing the evicting, you likely have a pit in your stomach at the thought.
They’re stressful on all involved and can lead to more problems than they solve.
Particularly for those property managers who work in a DIY setting, it’s easy to miss a step, or two, or even three in the eviction process.
Evictions, like most everything else involved in managing a property, are in fact a legal issue that must be handled as such.
What happens when you don’t follow the eviction laws in your area to a ‘T’, you may ask?
Aside from paying potential fines or finding your troublesome tenants back in your property, you may be looking at getting sued as well.
From following proper procedure, hiring a reputable locksmith company for lock change, and knowing when and how to serve the eviction notice, it’s imperative that you do things correctly.
Avoid getting into trouble and causing more problems on your end by taking a look at these things you must know about evicting your tenant.
Image from Cobra Locksmith New York
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The 5 Common Home Security Mistakes You’re Making Right Now
Did you know that the majority of home break-ins occur during the day?
Or that about 30% of all burglaries happen because of an unlocked door?
Or, that, according to the FBI, a home burglary is estimated to occur every 13 seconds in the United States alone?
Home security is often the first thing to go when aiming to make our lives easier.
Image from Vin Technology
We do things like leave windows open to save time, skip turning the alarm on, or leave the backdoor unlocked.
Yet, what many people don’t realize is that by making our own lives easier, you’re making the lives of potential burglars easier as well.
Statistics don’t lie, and with 66% of all burglaries belonging to residential areas, it’s important to understand what the common home security mistakes are and what you can do to avoid committing them.
Leaving Your Key Under the Doormat
It seems so obvious: do not leave your home key available for others to use, but for whatever reason this mistake gets made time and time again. Sure, leaving a key under the mat, fake rock, or even inside of some kind of small statue may seem like a good idea for you. Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but that fake rock doesn’t actually look real. In fact, it looks so unreal that chances are the burglar casing your home has seen ten just like it. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that your home is secure and that your “hidden key” will remain only to your knowledge. Always assume that someone has either seen you move your key before, or that they will be able to easily find it when you’re not home. The worst part? Because home burglaries mostly occur during the day, there’s a strong likelihood that your neighbors won’t think anything of someone walking into your home through your front door by using a key, making them unlikely to call the police. Keep your home safe by stopping the habit and leaving your key with a trusted neighbor instead.
Image from Gear Fuse
Installing Cheap Locks
When locks become rusted or keys become jammed, many people will turn to the easiest and quickest solution as opposed to the safest. Given the option, people in this situation will head to their local home improvement store and drop a few bucks on a new set of locks for their doors. Of course, while this might save you some of your valuable time, it also might lead to bigger problems down the road. Common locks, such as those found from a home improvement store, can be purchased and studied by potential burglars. Not to mention, a lock that is not done by a professional locksmith can be easily broken and, therefore, broken into. Ensure the safety of your home by securing it with substantial lock power that is installed by a professional locksmith, rather than that of your own two hands.
Ladders Out In the Front Yard
A rather surprising, but common, home security mistake that many make, is leaving a ladder within easy grasp in the yard. Particularly for those who have a second story home, leaving a ladder can lead to an easy break-in, even where you were sure none would occur. Commonly, when folks leave their home for the day, they have a tendency to leave one or two windows open on the top floor. Whether it’s done because you forgot to shut them before leaving, or because you’re “airing the home out” does not matter. What matters, is the assumption that is made that because it’s on the second floor, your home remains safe. Be mindful that burglars look for easy ways in, even for the top floor, making that ladder lying in the front yard perfect for easy access to top windows that you may have left open.
Forgetting To Turn The Alarm On
We’ve all been there—that frustrating moment when you’re on the way to work or some special event and realize that you aren’t quite sure whether or not you actually locked the door or turned on the alarm. Maybe you imagined it and never actually flicked the on switch, or more likely you’re panicking for no reason at all. Whatever the truth, you know that you won’t rest easy until you drive back home and check it yourself. But the fact is, when you’re already on the road and risking running late, you’re unlikely to go home and check on things. Forgetting to turn your alarm on accounts for a 300% in burglaries from properly protected homes. Instead of risking your home’s security, consider calling in late and turning around, or even checking with a trusted neighbor or family member to secure the home for you.
Image from Fresh Your Home Design
Posting On Social Media
Perhaps one of the most overlooked things that can weaken your home’s security is to post on social media about any upcoming trips you may be taking. Consider how many people you know on your Facebook friend list—if I had to guess it’s not nearly as many as you might immediately think. Posting about any extended time you’ll be away opens your property up to fair game for those hoping to break in. While it may be exciting to post about upcoming trips you may be taking, think about leaving out the exact dates. At the very least, mention in any posts any family members or friends who will be checking in throughout the duration of your vacation. Even if it’s not necessarily true, a quick “Thanks again to my mom, for watching the place while we’re gone”, will deter potential burglars from breaking in.
For more home security tips, tricks, and statistics, take a look at Safe Guard the World’s “Security Statistics” page.
What common security mistakes have you made?
Leave your advice in the comments below!
4 Reasons Why Smart Locks Are Not Replacing the Original Locksmith and Key
In 1999 everyone was worried about their computer systems crashing, leading to the end of the world, as we know it. Of course, we know that didn’t occur (case and point, I’m coming to you from a computer right now), and we survived the ball drop. With the survival of our technology, came the accelerated boom for newer and better. Apple cropped up in homes, backpacks, hands, ears, cars—pretty much everywhere. The Internet was no longer using dial-up and cellphones were found in the hands of every pre-teen in the market.
Yale “Go Key-less” Lock
It was only a matter of time, then, until our homes were simplified. These days, items like the Nest are for sale and allow you to control your home’s lights, temperatures, and alarm system from remote places. Included in many of these packages is the “smart-lock”. Smart locks, like the Yale “Go Key-less” Lock, allow you to manage your locks from a remote location. It seems great in theory, especially for those times when you’re on the freeway and you can’t quite remember whether or not you locked the door, you just jump into your app and lock it from the car. It’s a method of added convenience, providing consumers with the finest in lock luxury.
Or does it? Is the smart lock really as consumer friendly as it may seem? Or is it just a way to make your life, and the life of those around you, increasingly difficult?
Passwords
The smart locks operate on a password basis. Typically four digits or letters, the smart lock requires that a person input the code before the door is unlocked. In short, the password serves as your key into the home of choice. Though it may seem great and it is a nice idea to not worry about keys floating around, it actually has its faults. Like debit-machines, burglars and thieves have means to collect password data. Particularly with four-digit codes, special lighting, dusting, and stick-residue can easily reveal the four-digit passcode that you’ve been entering. This allows potential burglars access to your home, rather than deterring them. In contrast, keys offer security and cannot be accessed via finger dusting or infrared lighting, ensuring that a potential thief will spend more time at the door—and more time possibly getting caught.
Battery Life
Unfortunately, even with the boom in technology, the infinite battery has yet to be introduced to the masses. That being said, smart locks still run on the same run-of-the-mill battery that everything else does, and therefore will eventually run low and die. This poses a problem to homeowners using the technology that find themselves suddenly locked out because the smart lock won’t turn on. Likewise, as the batter runs down, the touch screen function begins to disappear. Where you once were able to push in the four-digit passcode with no problem, you’re smart lock will now struggle to read your fingerprint. This poses a problem for potential smart lock owners, who can become locked out of their home, requiring forced entry.
Forgetfulness
Say you’re heading out of town, and instead of giving the petsitter or cleaning team a key, you give them a password instead. You think so far so good. Not so fast, though. Unless your cleaning team and petsitter have had the foresight to write down their code, they may forget it, keeping them from entering your home. Though it might be easy for you to remember, consider the list of people that other people are working for, causing them to completely forget that your home no longer used a key. A lock and key, also keeps the problem of getting locked out because of a faulty password set up, or even a battery life issue at bay.
Three Strikes and You’re Out
Image from Food Safety News
Smart locks are smart. Unsurprisingly then it knows when someone is trying to get in that shouldn’t be. Smart locks have the ability to shut down when a password doesn’t go through for a number of times. Sounds great, right? But what happens when the battery is low and it keeps misreading your touch and signaling numbers that you’re not pressing to go through? Many people have found themselves locked out because their password was being read incorrectly, leaving them stranded before their door. Yet, if something happens to your lock and key, a locksmith is able to switch out the lock and install a new one, providing you with a decreased likelihood of the issue every rising again.
Are locks and keys the only secure solution? Maybe not. However, the original lock and key do serve as a low stress problem solver. Because smart locks have a handful of kinks and issues to work out of their system, it’s comfortable to assume that they won’t be replacing the original lock and key any time soon.
